


To Join the Fellowship

by Lil_Lottie



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Lord of the Rings (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Canon Compliant, Kili and Legolas got married after the BOTFA, Legolas goes to join the fellowship, M/M, There's cute moments, Thorin's dead, but like he's been dead, is there a happy ending? sorta, sorry in advance, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2021-01-23 17:56:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21324295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lil_Lottie/pseuds/Lil_Lottie
Summary: A summons from Lord Elrond was not one to be taken lightly and Legolas knew he had to answer the call, much to the reluctance of his husband, Kili. Refusing to let Legolas go alone, Kili joins him on his journey to Rivendell but can't help to worry about the fate of middle earth and his kin.
Relationships: Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield, Fili/Tauriel (Mentioned), Legolas Greenleaf/Kíli
Comments: 2
Kudos: 88





	To Join the Fellowship

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Tori @morlawny (@gamgeez on Twitter) for betaing the fic for me! And thank you to Irene (@vscogirlobiwan on twitter) for encouraging me to finish this.

A summons from Lord Elrond was not one to be taken lightly. When the letter was handed to Thranduil, he felt a wave of dread wash over him. A ring of power has been found, a ring that could greatly change the future of middle earth. Lord Elrond requested information and the elven king immediately called for council from his trusted advisors, wanting one of his own to represent the elves and share the story of how they had a creature, Gollum, imprisoned until his unfortunate escape.

“I will go,” Legolas said after his father explained the situation, “Who better to represent our people than their prince?”

Thranduil seemed to agree, giving his son a small nod as acknowledgement, and then waved his hand to dismiss the council. That was the end of Thranduil’s involvement with the ring. 

\--

Legolas headed back to his rooms and once he stepped inside, he gently closed the doors behind him. 

“That took longer than expected,” Kili didn’t miss a beat. Once Legolas was called to the council the messengers told him he must come alone, which upset the dwarf greatly. Being married to Legolas meant he should be included in all private meetings involving his husband so he was dying to know the reasoning behind his exclusion.

Legolas didn’t answer immediately and made his way to their bed which Kili was sitting on and sat down next to the dwarf, “Lord Elrond has called for council in Rivendell. The ring of power has been found. He wished for information and my father thought it would be best if he was informed of Gollum’s unfortunate escape.”

Before Legolas could continue, Kili spoke up, “You mean the one ring? Sauron’s ring? But it was said to be lost!”

The dwarf tensed up. He couldn’t help but feel angry about being excluded from such an important meeting. Legolas could feel the tension filling his husband and gently stroked his hand. He didn’t respond immediately to what the other had said for he knew that Kili would be upset at him volunteering himself to go and knowing Kili, he’d want to come, too.

“Ada wanted one of us to go, so I volunteered.”

Anger began to boil in Kili, “You what?” He clenched his fists and bit his lip as he tried to stop himself from losing his mind. 

“It is just a journey to Rivendell,” Was Legolas' response, as if this was somehow supposed to calm Kili’s fears. Sure, it was just a journey to Rivendell but even that meant a venture through the Misty Mountains and the terrors in that mountain, although happened 60 years ago, were still fresh in the dwarfs mind. 

“It starts off as a journey to Rivendell and then what? You really think someone will take this ring and that’ll be the end of your involvement in this? You’re not thinking this through.”

Somehow, even with Kili becoming more and more agitated, Legolas was able to remain calm but still did not address all of his husband’s fears, “I will take some of our best fighters with me there as an escort. There will be no need for you to worry.”

Kili couldn’t help but he worried. Loss was like an old friend to him and he couldn’t bare if anything happened to his beloved, “I’m going with you to Rivendell. If anything happened to you on the way there I’d--”

His voice cracked ever so slightly and he couldn’t bring himself to finish speaking. Legolas understood. The dwarf had been through so much with the passing of his uncle and his brother being crowned king in Erebor, there was no way he was going to force Kili into staying in Mirkwood without him. 

Legolas brought Kili’s hand up to his mouth and pressed a reassuring kiss to it, “I know. We leave in a week.”

\--

The week passed quickly with all of the planning and packing they had to do. There would be eight elves accompanying them, and each one needed to have enough supplies for the journey. When the day came, Kili couldn’t help but feel nervous about what was ahead of them and where this meeting would lead Legolas. Deep down he knew they would be parted. 

The elves were experienced travelers and made good time through the trees of the forests and eventually over the dangerous peaks of the misty mountains. The sides of the mountains seemed unchanged in the last 60 years and if Kili closed his eyes he could almost pretend he’s here with the company, with his uncle, and it makes him sad, even if he refuses to admit it. 

“It took us two months to make our way from Rivendell into Mirkwood,” Kili said quietly, “We had no idea where we were going but it’s just strange knowing that if we knew our way through it would’ve only taken us half the time”. 

The dwarf went on and on about the time he spent with the company to reclaim Erebor and he knew he was rambling but it kept his mind off what he was feeling in his heart. He usually wasn’t one to be nostalgic but he was starting to feel his years catch up to him in a way Legolas could never understand. Legolas didn’t mind his companion’s chatter for he, even after all these years, loved hearing the sound of his voice. 

“I had no idea when we set off for the quest I’d meet the love of my life.”

Legolas couldn’t help but smile but he knew what Kili wasn’t saying, _ “I didn’t think I would lose him.”_

\--

“Welcome to Rivendell,” said Lord Elrond out on the steps leading into the last homely house.

Rivendell looked exactly how Kili remembered which shouldn’t have been as big as a surprise as it was. 

The elves grabbed their supplies from their horses and were guided to the rooms they would be staying in for the time being.

“Legolas Greenleaf,” Elrond smiled to him then looked over towards Kili, “Master Dwarf.”

Kili was surprised at Elrond’s pleasant tone. He half expected the elf lord to be upset at his presence since his summons instructed for elves--not elves and their dwarf husband. 

“My Lord Elrond,” Kili responded, matching Elrond’s kind tone. 

“My Lord,” Legolas said after, reaching his arm out in greeting. Elrond reciprocated with a smile on his face.

“So your father has sent you to join my council.”

The elf nodded his head, “Yes, I volunteered. I thought it best that I came instead of one of my kin. I hope you don’t mind that my husband accompanied me on this journey.”

The elven king spared Kili a knowing glance before turning his attention back to Legolas. For a second Kili had forgotten Elrond had the gift of foresight.

“I do not mind at all. We have lots of room and there is someone here who has been waiting to see you.”

Kili and Legolas followed Elrond through the halls of Rivendell until he stopped at balcony overlooking the area. There, sitting on a bench overlooking a waterfall was sitting a familiar hobbit.

“Uncle Bilbo?”

The hobbit looked up and when he looked at who called his name he immediately broke out into a wide smile, “Kili!”

The dwarf rushed over and gave him a big hug, “I didn’t think I’d see you again after you left Erebor.”

Bilbo let out a large sigh and held the dwarf closer, “I’m sorry Kili my lad, I didn’t mean to leave Erebor so long after the passing of your uncle. I had intended to go back for the birth of Fili’s son but I’m afraid I’m not as young as I used to be. The journey would have been too difficult.”

His words made no sense to the dwarf. Not as young as he used to be? Sure, he hasn’t seen his uncle in about three years--since the passing of his husband, Thorin--but the last time he had seen Bilbo he was as still as young and full of life as the day they had met in Bag End. When he finally pulled back from the hug, that’s when the pieces fell into place. Bilbo looked so much older than before. His hair was as white as the clouds and his face was as wrinkled as a tunic he left on the floor too long. 

“You’ve… changed,” was all Kili could say. He was afraid that if he did say more than he might offend the hobbit.

Bilbo let out a bit of a laugh and patted the dwarf on the back, “Yes, there are harsher words you could have used but you’re right. I have changed. I’m not the same hobbit I once was. Never mind that, come come my boy, let me show you what I have been working on the past few years.”

Kili spared a glance towards Legolas and Elrond who were still standing by the doorway and both elves gave a quick nod. Bilbo then led Kili away.

They got to Bilbo’s rooms which were more extravagant than Kili had assumed they would be. There were tapestries on the wall detailing the history of the elves, there were bookcases filled with books written in Quenya, and in the corner of the room next to the small bed was a writing table with a book lying on top. 

Kili walked over and ran his hand over the soft leather, “What’s this?”

Bilbo walked over and opened the book to the first page where it read _ There and Back Again: A Hobbit’s Tale by Bilbo Baggins._

“Frodo could never get enough of hearing me tell stories of our adventure. Then one day he mentioned something about writing a book and I quite liked that idea. I came here to help me focus on writing it.”

“Can I read it?” 

Bilbo quickly slammed the book closed and kept his hand on the cover, “No! It’s not done yet!”

Taken aback at his actions, Kili backed away from the book, “Okay, uncle. Maybe once it’s finished.”

Bilbo stroked the leather of the book before turning to Kili, “Sit with me, Kili my lad. We have a lot to talk about.”

Kili wasn’t going to say no, though he was wary of the hobbit’s odd behavior. Once the hobbit sat down on his bed, he sat down next to him. 

“So, Legolas answered Lord Elrond’s call for council.”

All Kili did was nod his head.

“And how do you feel about this?” Bilbo’s concern for how Kili was feeling was plastered on his face.

“I’m worried,” he said slowly, “I’m worried we are to be parted and who knows what may happen in his travels. How did you do it? How were you able to travel to and from the Shire every few years and not worry about being apart from Thorin?”

“I wouldn’t say I wasn’t worried but he was more grieved by my partings than I was. I loved your uncle and I knew in my heart I would see him again. It meant the world to me that he loved me enough to let me go back to the Shire to see family. But, I missed him terribly every journey however that just meant our reunion would be something special.”

There was a sadness in Bilbo’s words that made Kili’s heart ache, “I miss him.”

“I do, too. But we don’t live forever and that’s something I’ve made peace with.”

He was right. They don’t live forever. But Legolas does. 

\--

Soon the sky turned dark and Kili left Bilbo’s rooms to go and find Legolas and hopefully something to eat. He didn’t make it far before he heard a voice yell out at him.

“Well bless my beard, if it isn’t the old prince of Erebor himself!” 

Kili instantly recognized the voice and turned around quickly. “Gimli!” 

The two closed the distance between them and they pulled each other into a tight embrace, “That pointy eared elf you call a husband told me you were around here somewhere but since I didn’t see you I assumed he was lying.”

Kili couldn’t help but laugh at that. Even after all these years Gimli still didn’t like Legolas, “I was catching up with Bilbo. He’s been staying here with the elves trying to write a book.”

“Aye so this is where he’s been hiding out. Tired of us dwarves I see.”

It wasn’t that and Gimli knew it. Bilbo’s grief over Thorin’s death lead the hobbit to go back to the Shire and there was no stopping Frodo from going with. It was times like these that Kili was grateful to live in Mirkwood, it was further from the pain.

“Did the king send you here?”

“Aye. There was a messenger from Mordor asking for information on the one ring so my father and I were sent here to send a word of warning.”

A chill ran down Kili’s spine knowing that some filth from Mordor made his way to Erebor’s doorstep. 

Kili’s lack of response made Gimli speak up again, “When was the last time you talked to your brother?”

“When I visited Erebor for the birth of Fili and Tauriel’s second son.”

All Gimli could do was shake his head in disapproval. It had been almost a year.

To break the tension, Kili decided to change the subject, “Let us find something to eat, cousin.” 

“Oh yes! I was talking to the cook and I was able to convince him to make something with chips!” and suddenly Gimli was back in good spirits like the conversation had never happened.

\--

After dinner Kili was introduced to the others who had answered Elrond’s summons. Most he had met before except for Boromir, a man who was the son of the steward of Gondor. He was also reintroduced to Strider, who he had met briefly in Mirkwood when he surrendered the creature Gollum to Thranduil.

The dwarf mostly stuck around those he was already familiar with and took the time to catch up with his cousin, Frodo. 

“This whole time Bilbo had the ring?” 

Frodo nodded his head, “He found it in goblin caves in the Misty Mountains.”

Kili had to repress a shudder. All this time he had the ring. He thought it was odd how Bilbo could run around undetected but he figured it was just the magic of hobbits. 

“And now you have it.”

Frodo raised his hand to his chest and clutched it, “I wish to be rid of it.”

And for a second Kili thought he heard a voice whispering to him,_ “If the hobbit doesn’t want it, take it for yourself.”_ The dwarf quickly shook his head to rid himself of the horrid thought and a feeling of anguish for what his cousin had to face washed over him. 

“I’m so sorry you have to deal with this.”

“I am, too.” And he meant it. 

—

Frodo introduced Kili to his companions, two of his kin which he’s heard many stories about, and one of his close friends and gardener. 

“Samwise Gamgee, it’s a pleasure to meet you, sir. I always loved hearing the stories about your uncle reclaiming Erebor.”

Kili couldn’t help but smile at the image of Bilbo gathering around the young shirelings and sharing stories of 13 strange dwarves and a seemingly impossible quest. 

“My family used to go on adventures! The Tooks were notorious for getting into trouble. It must’ve been Bilbo’s Tookish blood that motivated him to go,” That one Kili remembered, Pippin, from stories Frodo would tell him after his visits to the Shire. 

“Uh huh, and so if it’s in your Took blood then why haven’t you gone on any adventures, Pip?” And that one must have been Merry. 

Pippin seemed to not get knocked down by his cousins comment, “Because there haven’t been any for me to go on! And besides what kind of fun is an adventure if you don’t go with me.”

“Well I for one don’t want any adventures. I just want to get rid of this horrid ring and go back home.” 

“Oh Sam,” Frodo responded. He placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder and gave him a small smile. It seemed that Frodo, too, knew this wouldn’t be as easy as Sam hoped it would be.

—

It was the day of the council and only those who had been specifically invited were supposed to be apart of the meeting. 

“I’m sure if you showed up Elrond wouldn’t kick you out.” Legolas was dressed in his best cloak and looked rather princely. Kili couldn’t help but smile how handsome he was. 

“No, no. Lord Elrond is someone I’d rather not upset, especially after how hospitable he’s been. Besides, Bilbo asked me to keep him company today.”

Legolas didn’t press the issue even though he would have liked to have his husband around, if only to have a buffer from the harsh gaze of Gloin and Gimli, “I will tell you everything that happens once the meeting has ended.”

Legolas leaned down and pressed a kiss to Kili’s forehead. It took everything in Kili to not grab the elf by his collar and pull him in for a proper kiss. With a sigh he let Legolas depart, his heart filled with fear of the unknown, and then got up to see Bilbo.

\--

It all happened so fast Kili could barely make sense of what happened. One moment he was walking down the hall and the next thing he knows he’s on the ground, feeling like he walked into a wall.

“I’m so sorry!” It seems he had run into Pippin, well, more like Pippin ran into him. The young hobbit held his hand out to help Kili off the ground.

“It’s really, uh, not a problem,” Kili said as he took Pippin’s hand and stood back up. He looked over to his partner in crime who surprisingly stayed silent throughout the whole ordeal, “And where are you two running off two?”

Merry’s voice was quiet, almost a whisper, “We’re going to eavesdrop on their little meeting. It’s not fair they excluded us! After all, we made it this far with Frodo, we’d hate to be parted from him now.”

“You should come with us. Who knows what they’re talking about,” Pippin added.

Kili mauled over the idea for a brief second, “I really don’t think it’s a good idea.”

Pippin and Merry seemed to shrug him off.

“We’ll let you know what happens.”

With a shake of his head, the dwarf was on his way again.

\--

Something was preventing him from knocking on the door. Every time he went to make contact with the wood, his fist would not close the gap. He was unsure as to why he suddenly felt hesitant to go in--it wasn’t like him to be nervous about bothering people, especially Bilbo, but there was something in the back of mind, like a warning, and it weighed heavy on him. Once he finally built up the courage to actually knock, his fist was once again stilled but this time but the sound of a voice. It sounded like the hobbit was having a conversation with someone. Did one of the elves decide to pay him a visit? The smart thing to do in this situation would have been to leave but instead Kili decided to press his ear against the door to try and figure out who Bilbo was talking to.

“I never told you this, but I found something in the caves all those years ago,” he was talking about the ring, Kili realized, “I didn’t want you to know. It was made of gold and I didn’t want you to take it from me. Dwarven greed, you know.”

This conversation was leaving Kili with more questions than answers. Was he talking to a dwarf?

“I realized later that was just a stupid excuse I made to myself so I wouldn’t have a reason to tell you, or Gandalf or even our nephews. I’m sorry, Thorin.”

Thorin? Bilbo stopped talking as if he was waiting for someone to respond. Then he thought maybe somehow his uncle had heard he was outside the door and held his breath just in case Bilbo was listening for eavesdroppers. 

“But it seems I have lost it, precious,” Bilbo’s tone of voice changed into a dreadful sound, like something else had taken him over, “and we wants it back. We wants the precious.”

Fear filled Kili -- he was chilled to the bone. Bilbo wasn’t talking to some imaginary Thorin, he was talking to whatever was left of his attachment to the ring. Bilbo’s mention of the ring reminded Kili of the voice he heard when he was talking to Frodo. He felt the pull to the ring just from being in proximity to it for a short time, he couldn’t imagine what it would do to him if he was around it for days or even years. The thought worried him. What kind of effect would it have on his friends? His husband? Would the ring consume them all? 

He wasn’t sure if it was panic that motivated his actions or if he just wanted the strange murmerings from Bilbo’s room to stop but Kili brought himself to knock on the door and all sounds on the other side stopped. 

All was quiet for a moment until there of a shuffle of footsteps that got progressively louder as he got closer to the door. Unsure what to expect, Kili braced for the worst.

“Kili my lad! Come in, come in! I’ve been waiting for you!”

If Kili hadn’t overheard Bilbo talking to himself, he would have no clue that the conversation had taken place. The hobbit looked no different than he did the other day, and his room was nice and tidy. Still, the dwarf took a bit of caution as he walked in. 

“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”

Bilbo shut the door behind Kili, “Oh no it’s fine, it’s fine. I was busy looking for something so I lost track of time myself.”

Kili watched as Bilbo stuck his hands in the pockets of his waistcoat and then in the back pockets of his trousers.

“Is it something I can help you find?” He asked slowly, wondering if Bilbo would confess he thought he had misplaced his ring.

With a smile and a shake of his head Bilbo responded, “No, no. Just an heirloom is all and the more I think about it, the more I realize it’s safe with your cousin, Frodo.”

Safe. What an interesting word choice, safe. 

Kili didn’t press the matter any further and instead visited with his uncle for a few hours while his mind swirled around the fate of middle earth.

\--

“Then I volunteered to go along,” Legolas was filling in Kili about happened at the council.

“What were your exact words?”

“And my bow.”

“That’s the stupidest and most dramatic thing I’ve ever heard. What was next? And you have my cheese knife?” Kili knew he was deflecting. Legolas’ choice did not make him happy and he knew there was nothing he could do to change his decision or the fate of this “fellowship.”

“I know you’re upset but we both know this is what I had to do.”

Kili didn’t know if he wanted to yell or punch a wall or scream into a pillow or cry till Rivendell was flooded, “You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into!”

“I do know! I’m going to try and save middle earth! I’m going to try and save your kin from some wicked fate.”

“Let me go with you!”

“No!” Legolas’s voice was harsh and Kili could see pain and terror in his eyes, “Kili, no. I don’t know if I could bare to lose you. I already talked to Lord Elrond and he said you could stay here with Bilbo so that way I know you’re safe.”

Before Kili could protest, Legolas started to speak again, “Please, melmë, I have asked little of you the past 60 years so let me ask this of you know.”

Kili was angry, he didn’t like not being able to choose his own fate, to be forced to sit on the sidelines and hope and pray something didn’t happen to his amrâlimê, but he also knew he had to pick and choose his battles and this is one battle he knew he would lose.

“Fine,” he said defeated and all Legolas offered in return was a sad smile, “but you promised me all those years ago you’d come back to me; don’t you dare think about breaking that promise now.”

Legolas wrapped his arms around Kili, pulling him close, “I can promise you that. I can even promise you the moon, but we both know they’d both be empty words gracing empty promises.”

Deep down Kili knew he was right and all he could do was clutch onto the elf and press his face into Legolas’s chest. It felt like too much too fast with the passing of his uncle, watching his mother succumb to her grief, and seeing his brother struggle with taking on the throne. The only thing that had been holding Kili together the past few years was Legolas, and now he was losing him, too.

“If I don’t do this, none of us will have a future. Let me fight for us.” 

\--

The months before the fellowship departed dragged on slowly. Knowing the inevitable was going to happen but being powerless to stop it was a horrid feeling. He tried his best to hide his true feelings, especially because he knew Gimli would give him an ear full over being too soft and quick to worry. 

And then the day came.

“No tears over the departure of your favorite cousin?” Asked Gimli while they were still waiting for the others to arrive at the designated meeting spot. It was still early in the morning and there was dew was sticking to the blades of grass beneath the dwarves feet.

Kili, not being to hide his true feelings from the other dwarf, appreciated him trying to lighten his mood, “Tears of happiness, maybe.”

Gimli let out a hearty laugh and pat his cousin on the back, “Don’t go too crazy staying with the elves. I think there’s something in the water that flows around here. Can never be too careful.”

Kili nodded his head in acknowledgment, “Gimli, do me a favor. Keep your eyes on Legolas for me. Please?”

There was a flash of pity on Gimli’s face before that was quickly replaced by a look of fake disgust, “Aye, I’ll watch every hair on the pointy eared prince’s head for you but I won’t like it!”

\--

How do you say goodbye? How do you watch as the person you love makes what could be the ultimate sacrifice for the good of the world? How do you go on knowing you might never see your friends again? At this point, there was only thing left any of them could hold onto, and that was hope.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/indyjoneswhore/)  
or on [Tumblr](http://radicalryden.tumblr.com/)


End file.
